London, July 12 (IANS): Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was the hero with two saves in the penalty shootout as Italy won the Euro 2020 title 3-2 on penalties after the final against England ended 1-1 after extra time.
Marcos Rashford sent his penalty into the post and then the Italian goalkeeper saved shots from Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Sako after England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had done well to thwart Jorginho and Andrea Belotti on Sunday evening, reports Xinhua.
Once again the penalties were cruel on England, but Italy will argue that after suffering in the first half, they did enough in the remainder of the game to deserve the win.
While Italy were unchanged from the squad that beat Spain in the semifinal, England coach Gareth Southgate returned to the three central defenders who had served so well against Germany.
Southgate’s tactics paid immediate dividends when Luke Shaw volleyed England into a second-minute lead. Harry Kane dropped deep and created space for Kieran Trippier and the wing-back had time to pick out Shaw’s run at the far post.
Once ahead, England looked comfortable with Kieran Trippier seeing a low cross cleared, but overall, the English were content to close down the spaces in midfield and defence, with Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, Mason Mount and at times even Harry Kane, closing down and denying the Italians angles to pass the ball.
Perhaps that meant the English at times lacked men to launch effective counter-attacks, but Italy were unable to build anything and their only chance of the half came from an individual run and shot just wide, by Federico Chiesa.
Italy came out strongly at the start of the second half, looking to dominate where they had struggled before the break. Insigne fired a free kick just high and wide after a needless foul from Raheem Sterling and although Harry Maguire headed a free kick over, it was game on for Italy.
Federico Chiesa’s run ended with Pickford blocking from a narrow angle and the England goalkeeper did even better to block Chiesa’s shot in the 62nd minute.
Italy were playing in and around the England penalty area and although Maguire flicked Chiesa’s cross out for a corner, Leonardo Bonucci was able to scramble home from close range after Pickford had blocked Marco Verratti’s original header.
Bukayo Saka and Jordan Henderson came on as England reverted to four at the back, while Chiesa had to limp off with an ankle injury as the game went into extra time.
With four minutes of normal time remaining, a pitch invader stopped the action and stewards struggled to catch him adding to a sense of chaos at the stadium after ticketless fans earlier forced their way in.
England were struggling to string passes together and it wasn’t long after Kalvin Phillips fired wide that Jack Grealish replaced Mount and the former almost set up Saka with his first action, while at the other end Pickford did well to deny Federico Bernadeschi.
Pickford blocked Brernadeschi’s free kick, while John Stones was inches away from a free kick as Donnarumma came flying out as nerves got frayed, legs tired and England looked to retake the initiative.
Gareth Southgate made two late changes, bringing on Rashford and Sancho for the penalties, but the move backfired as neither scored their spot kick.
Fans break into scuffle after Euro final
London Metropolitan’s riot police came down to London’s West End after thousands of football fans roamed on the streets post England’s loss against Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
Scores of officers wearing riot gear and clutching shields were making their way through the streets of central London when large crowds attempted to push into the fan zone at Trafalgar Square without tickets. The fans dispersed quickly, though, as rain arrived in the city.
The riot police were also seen at Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square in London after football supporters were climbing over street lamps, over the roofs of buses and setting off fire in front of hundreds of fans following England’s defeat. The chaotic scenes came after England lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties 2-3 to Italy, extending the wait for a major trophy after the 1966 World Cup.
The Metropolitan Police posted on Twitter, “Our policing operation for the #Euro2020 final is drawing to a close. Thank you to the tens of thousands of fans who had good spirits and behaved responsibly. We made 49 arrests during the day for a variety of offences. We will have officers on hand throughout the night.”
Another tweet by the Metropolitan Police further said, “Frustratingly, 19 of our officers were injured while they confronted volatile crowds. This is wholly unacceptable. A big thanks to officers across London and our blue light colleagues for their part in keeping Londoner’s safe and moving tonight. #Euro2020.”
Ahead of the game there were chaotic scenes at Wembley Stadium, with footage showing dozens of fans trying to force their way past barriers to get into the stadium.
In a statement which came later on, a stadium spokesperson said: “There was a breach of security and a small group of people got into the stadium. We are now working closely with stadium stewards and security to remove these people. Anyone inside the stadium without a ticket will be instantly ejected.”
